This week’s episode is a little about the family of Aurora, the main protagonist of The Thirteenth Hour sequel – Dare.  In many ways, the whole book is about family, but Aurora, who grew up in an orphanage on a different continent, never really knew her family and had no recollection of where she was originally from.   But she gets to know all about it this book, though not by choice.  In The Thirteenth Hour, there are hints that Aurora comes from a family of powerful magic users, but I left that plot thread intentionally hanging to explore one day in a future sequel.

When Aurora is kidnapped, she is brought to a technologically advanced city (Aulurwen City, the capital) that looks something like this.  The black castle is where Aurora is brought and study magic and fulfill her family destiny.

Aurora’s parents are from neighboring countries.  They are both from Guardian families – these are the magic users of their world who channel, guard, and provide the magic their world runs on.

Aurora’s father when he was about three.  Marshall is Aurora’s grandfather and also comes from a Guardian family, as does his wife, though he leaves that life when she gets sick.  

Aurora’s maternal family – her grandparents are sort of the opposite of her paternal family in look and personality.  They are outwardly cold, rigid, very thin, and very image and duty focused.   They believe their work as Guardians and maintaining a proper family blood line are most important.  Demetria is Aurora’s teenage cousin and wants the position that Aurora is brought back for.  She views Aurora as a barbarian and is not shy about expressing her views.

The castle where Aurora finds herself essentially captive has a color palate of whites, greys, and blacks – smooth, cold, minimalist, with sharp lines – a direct contrast to the natural environment of Aurora’s home.  This is a sketch of the room where she is to stay (actually her mother’s room as a child).  She is a bit overwhelmed by it, though later comes to appreciate some of the modern conveniences this world has.  Aurora’s arc literally and figuratively has to do with figuring out what parts of this world and her heritage she wants to keep and which parts she does not want, similar to what all of grapple with as adults.    

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

I have finally come up with a title for The Thirteenth Hour sequel – Dare.  In many ways, that’s what the book is about – having the courage to explore new waters, do things that you don’t want to do (but have to), and live a life that you can envision (but don’t necessarily think you can actually make a reality, something that take risks and being vulnerable).

There are a number of characters that accompany Logan on his journey to find Aurora after she is spirited away (she is having her own arc on the other side of the world).  Here is a little about them, their arcs, and what I have imagined them looking like.

-Tinder: an full blooded eleven youth from a well- off family who has chosen to distance himself from the family business (and a a life of privilege) by making his living as a nomadic minstrel.  Well educated and an experienced competitive fencer.  Made his way to the island where Logan and Aurora live due to rumors of it being haunted by cutthroats but got bored after a few weeks when he found a peaceful community.  His character arc will probably involved becoming less self-absorbed and more responsible.

-Haylee: a middle aged researcher and professor of linguistics at the National Wild Land University who comes from humble beginnings (her father was a shepherd) and has worked hard to distance herself from poverty.  The trade off is she has had little time for developing other interests, friendships, and romantic partnerships.  She has made her way to the island where Logan and Aurora live to do research on half elf communication and vocal chord anatomy and agrees to accompany Logan since ha needs to head back East to complete her dissertation.  Her character arc will likely involve becoming less divorced from her roots and making time for things besides work, including friendships.

Kayla: a mute half elf woman who, like Tinder, has lived a nomadic life, but unlike him, not by choice.  A naturally gentle person, she also has an understated, fierce independence stemming from being able to trust few others besides herself.   She has made her way to the island where Logan and Aurora live after hearing that is was a place where she could finally find peace.  She and Aurora got to be friends.  She joins Logan’s party to help find Aurora.  Her arc will likely involve letting herself be vulnerable in front of others and finding true companionship.

The Wayfarer: a giant, nonmute half elf who is somewhat of a rebel without a cause.  His main life’s mission was to help his people regain their (in his words) rightful land (the Dark Forest) that was taken by King Darian IV.  Due to a series of events that was apparently not supposed to happen, he was killed in a battle with the Imperial Army and is resurrected when the Dreamweaver, the Overseer of the Land of Dreams,  realizes the error.  Alfred, the boy from The Thirteenth Hour, now a middle aged man, assumes the Wayfarer’s life and mission given that his abilities not only complement but also complete the role the Wayfarer will have in mending a great rift between the land of the living and the Land of Dreams (a.k.a. the land of the dead.). Assuming the Wayfarer’s persona creates some issues, as Alfred’s personality, preferences, and experiences differ greatly from the Wayfarer’s.  The arc of the Wayfarer really is also Alfred’s arc.  Just as the Wayfarer becomes more empathetic due to Alfred’s influence, Alfred learns he can be a man of action and lead others when the situation demands it.  Both men also find love and companionship, though not exactly in the way either would have expected.

Logan: the protagonist of The Thirteenth is now about ten years older.  He is living a hardy but pleasant, self sustaining existence on the Isle of Misfits with his wife, Aurora, and the half elf refugee community on the other side of the island.  That changes when mysterious strangers arrive from Aurora’s supposed homeland summoning her back for fulfill her family destiny.  When he wakes up one day and Aurora is missing, he fears the worst and decides to go looking for her, though he knows the chances of success are slim and it will take him far from his beloved island community.  His character arc, though less dramatic, is no less important in that it helps to round out his boyish personality in The Thirteenth Hour to that of a man entering the stage of life where he is not just responsible for himself and his surroundings but capable of leading and being responsible for others.  

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, wanted to talk about Logan and Aurora’s house for The Thirteenth Hour sequel.  I recently finished a painting of an illustration I started a few months ago.  I’m talking about the outside as well as the inside, especially all the personal touches they put in to add some element of convenience to their little sanctuary – a stone hearth, a shower area, a root cellar, and their tatami-like sleeping area.  This is a picture did a few years ago:

And here is the outside in the picture that I just finished.  My son thought it looked like a Hobbit house – I guess it does, since it’s partially in the ground (I imagined that Logan and Aurora would have carved out a part of a hill), but probably not quite as cozy or finished since Logan and Aurora would have had to do this all by hand with only a few borrowed or bought things (like their window, the lock on the their door, and so forth).

I really think I should try to make a blueprint of the floor plan, so to speak, to see how it would all be laid out, and maybe a model of the house, maybe out of clay, since it would be fun to see it in 3 dimensions. 

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I am doing some more show and tell of the illustrations for The Thirteenth Hour sequel I have done so far:

Logan and Aurora flying on Lightning off their island to the mainland for a weekend.

The new female Imperial Rangers – King Darian IV’s former personal guard.

A squirrely messenger character called Nerril from the part of the world Aurora is from – sent to bring Aurora back to the land of her birth.  He bungles the job and gets put to sleep by a group of half elves on patrol.

Aurora playing her lute outside under the light of the moon and an aurora, contemplating new information about her past.

Logan is sick in bed, and Aurora is surprised one night by a soldier in a dark uniform who completes what Nerril is unable to do.

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I am doing a little show and tell of the illustrations for The Thirteenth Hour sequel I have done so far:

The Wayfarer’s last stand.

Alfred asleep in his apartment with a hand-drawn/written copy of “The Thirteenth Hour” he wrote as a kid after witnessing the events of the first book.

Logan and Aurora in dream form in Alfred’s kitchen.

The Wayfarer flying a rocketpack.

The rocketpack – a homage to Dave Stevens and the Rocketeer.

The half elf village elders.

The network of rope bridges and interconnecting dwellings making up the treetop part of the half elven village.

Logan and Aurora walking through the ground part of the half elven village.

The Wayfarer tests Logan, who defends himself. 

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I am talking about the morning exercise routines that I have done for years; Logan’s “morning exercises” referred to in The Thirteenth Hour sequel (and I think even in the first book a bit) are similar.  But in the sequel, Aurora starts her own version of these exercises that are more tailored to her own needs.  She has less interest in martial arts but does find that due to the pressures and lack of physical activity she encounters in the part of the world that she finds herself in, her version of her morning routine is focused on agility, suppleness, and meditation.  Even though she has watched Logan do his own version for years (and he has even participated sometimes), she ends up discovering her own version as a way of grasping at bits of her old life and regaining some sense of control in an uncontrollable situation.  And because her life with Logan on her Isle was very physical, where much of the day was spent on tending to basic needs, she is unused to a more “modern” life where things like food, clean water, temperature control, and so forth are provided for, meaning that her body is not worked in the same way and she feels less able to confront all the mental challenges she has to shoulder.  So in her case, it’s really about balance.     

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

Believe in yourself and in your dream

Though impossible things may seem.

Some way, somehow, you’ll get through

To the goal you have in view.

Mountains fall and seas divide

Before the one, who, in his stride

Take the hard road, day by day

Sweeping obstacles away.

Believe in yourself and in your plan.

Say not I can not but I can.

The prizes of life we fail to win

Because we doubt the power within.

There was not an author given, and I have not been able to find one, despite looking a number of times, but I’m sure one is out there, somewhere.  That little poem got me through some tough times.  So those are the sentiments I wanted this song to have.

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I wanted to go over some main details of the plot of The Thirteenth Hour sequel, which is really four stories in one – Aurora’s tale, Logan’s tale, Alfred (from the first book’s tale), and the plot that weaves them all together.  It might be too big for one book.  But so far, I’m just writing!  96K words so far and probably only half done.  I know I’ll have a lot of editing to do!

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

I think I settled on an illustration style I like for this book – ballpoint pen with watercolors.  Here’s a picture of the Wayfarer from the first part of the story:

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I’m working on an idea for a new ending(?) song for The Thirteenth Hour sequel.  I don’t have the lyrics yet and only a vague idea of what it will be about (acceptance? integration? family trauma? I don’t know yet exactly … I have heard this kind of story is called a “second coming of age” tale since it’s more about the shift into middle adulthood) but I have the chords for the verse and chorus and some riffs that I started playing around with this episode.

The parts of the song so far are:

-Intro riff in F Bb Dm C

-Verse in F Bb Dm C

-Chorus riff in F Dm Bb C

-Outro arpeggio riff with a descending L hand chord progression in F Dm Bb C 

I thought it would be nice if this song were a duet (perhaps between Logan and Aurora, so a male and female part), or maybe just sung from Aurora’s voice.  I have just sung the ones intended to be sung by her before (since most could go either way), but since this book is really her story, there are some that really can only be sung by a female.  So that will be a project for the next soundtrack.   

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I’m reading from a random section from The Thirteenth Hour sequel draft.  Last week, I talked about the Wayfarer, so this week happens to be a section where Logan and Aurora first meet him.  I’ve mentioned a bit about the half elf freedom fighter, the Wayfarer, before, but this section gives a bit more characterization, as we get to know him more and more as the story progresses.

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I’m reading from a random section from The Thirteenth Hour sequel draft.  Last week, I talked about Aurora, so this week happens to be a section where Logan and Aurora reconnect with the new Imperial Rangers (formerly King Darian IV’s all female guard) and invite them back to the island where they live for a visit. 

I scrolled to this section randomly but recall it was fun to write; I enjoyed being able to flesh out some of the side characters whose storylines interweave with the bigger plot.  I’ve mentioned a bit about the half elf freedom fighter, the Wayfarer, before, as well as some of the characteristics of the new Imperial Rangers in previous episodes. 

The Rangers only visit for a short time, but you get the sense that this offers Aurora a rare chance at female companionship she doesn’t normally get (and frankly, never really got before at previous points in her life).  But she fits in well with them, and perhaps in another life, could have been one of them.  I got the sense that Logan could have been fine living alone as a hermit in the woods with only occasional contact with other people, but I didn’t get that sense entirely for Aurora.  She struck me as the sort of person who could do it and probably would not mind most of the time, but as someone who never quite fit in most places and knew nothing about who she was and where she came from, finding “her own tribe” would have been a nice thing for her.  So that’s exactly what she does in the story.  Of course, she ends up finding out it’s not everything it’s cracked up to be, but you can’t have that realization unless you know for real.    

More next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I thought I’d discuss a bit about Aurora’s backstory and some of the themes I wanted to touch on in the sequel to The Thirteenth Hour.   Not all of the research/backstory always makes its way super explicitly in the actual text, but I usually create a history for the characters in order to help create things consistent. 

For Aurora, we already learned she grew up at an orphanage and knew nothing about the family of her origin.  For this book, I have been filling in parts of her past we got only hints about before.  I imagined that she was almost always the oldest kid in the orphanage and thus probably the tallest and biggest as well as someone who others would naturally tend to gravitate towards for comfort and support.  I imagine she also entered puberty a bit on the earlier side (maybe 11), which is not always the kindest to girls that age.  That often comes with some changes – menses, body changes, societal expectations, sometimes unwanted attention from men, etc.  Aurora didn’t exactly have a mother figure in her life, but the Headmistress of the orphanage and its staff (most of whom were probably women) kind of filled that role, and I imagine that since she was there so long, they would have viewed her as kind of a surrogate daughter and might have tried to shield her a bit from some of those things.  That said, everyone has to grow up sometime, and I imagine she would have figured out these things on her own eventually. 

By the time we meet her again in this book, though, she’s older (almost 30) and more secure in who she is.  She’s happy for the most part.  Perhaps a little lonely and wondering if she and Logan will ever be able to have children, but all things considered, settled.  This story does unbalance that a bit, but the changes are less external and more mental.  In some ways, she serves as a voice of reason when it comes to some of the irrational/unhealth attitudes and views we tolerate but may still find unreasonable when it comes to family attitudes, societal expectations about gender and body shape, societal roles, and so forth.    But as she encounters these things anew when she finally meets her own family, it causes her to question who she is and what parts (if any) of this part of her life that she wants to integrate into her old life.

I have thought that for illustrations this time, instead of going the digital route, I’ll use hand drawn watercolors and so will make some pictures this summer that will depict some of these things.  I don’t know if they will all make their way into the text but perhaps some for future short stories or maybe just to understand my characters better.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I’m playing around with a variation of the archery technique I was working on last week (holding arrows in my bow hand) but also combining it with another technique, holding a few in my drawing hand also.  They each have their pros and cons, but I think Logan and Aurora might have played around with both, and probably others.

At the suggestion of former show guest Billy Campbell, I have been reading the fantasy book, A Wizard of Earthsea.  This is actually my third time trying to get into it – once as a child, once in my 20s, and then again, twenty+ years after that.   Third time’s the charm, I suppose.  I found it quite difficult to understand before, but I think the combination of an initially unlikeable protagonist and the dreamy, myth-like writing style were initial barriers that have grown on me this round.  The tale is a great example of how sometimes, you can and should break the rule of “show, not tell,” because it is very much the sort of thing you might be told around a fire on a dark winter’s night.  

One interesting fact is that the author of the book, Ursula Le Guin, had parents who were anthtopologists – Theodora and Alfred Krober.  Alfred Krober was one of the anthropologists who worked with Ishi, the last of the Yahi people in California after they were killed in massacres in the late 1880s.  In 1911, Ishi was “found” (i.e. emerged from hiding, half staved) and brought to San Francisco.  He became part of an anthropology museum, working a job and demonstrating traditional Native American skills for museum attendees and forming what sounded like a genuine friendship with the anthropologists, who also recorded his reactions to 20th century life.  He would later also befriend a University of CA physician, Saxton Pope, around archery, and their collaboration would basically form the basis for a re-mergence of traditional bowhunting in the United States.  Unfortunately, Ishi died in 1916 of pulmonary TB.  Alfred Krober was away on sabbatical at the time, and for whatever reason, Ishi’s body underwent an autopsy, and his brain was removed.  Alfred was very upset by all of this when he returned and found the subject quite difficult to talk about for years.  Decades later, his wife wrote the book, Ishi in Two Worlds, that became very popular.   

The fact that Ursula Le Guin undoubtedly grew up hearing her parents talk about Ishi makes me wonder if her writing style for this book, reminiscent of a myth, was influenced by her parents’ work, and if her protagonist for the book, Ged, portrayed as having reddish – brown skin, was not in some way influenced by Ishi.  Of note, Ged was given that name by his master teacher, just as Ishi was given that name since no one knew his real name.  I think the custom in his tribe was for someone else to introduce a person to another by name, and since there was no one else of his tribe left, the Yahi word for man (“ishi”) was used instead.  In Le Guin’s Eathsea books, magic stems from knowing an object’s true name.  It’s a sign of acknowledgement and respect that commands power and summons the natural forces of the Earth.  Part of me wonders if this was again an ode of Ishi, who died without anyone in the living world know his true name.  I don’t know, but I do wonder at the connection.   

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I’m playing around with something I saw in a Franco-Belgian comic book from the late 70s/80s called Thorgal, written by Jean Van Hamme and illustrated by Grzegorz Rosiński, about the child of a race of people from elsewhere in the universe who crash land on Earth.  The child (Thorgal) is raised by Vikings and grows up to be a very skilled archer. 

I just discovered this comic on a trip to visit my brother across the pond.  We ended up taking the Chunnel from London to Paris, and there is this one section of the city where there are a whole bunch of comic book stores.  We went into one that had mainly French comics.  It was absolutely amazing in terms of art, though I only know a few words of French so could not really read anything.  But I found a few volumes in English, and a Thorgal comic was one of them.  I was attracted to the title of this volume (The Archers), and even though it was sealed (as is often the case with most comic book shops), decided I’d buy it on impulse.

It was basically something I would have totally done as a kid – bought a book because the cover looked cool and opened it up to find I couldn’t understand what I’d just bought since I’d purchased the 4th volume out of 9 or something and had missed all the backstory.  But I will say, though that was technically the case, I have heard that these volumes are more stand alone-ish that typical American comics.  I didn’t have much trouble figuring out what was going on.  I was also pleasantly surprised to find that Thorgal, his wife, and their son end up living on a remote island, just like Logan and Aurora do at the end of The Thirteenth Hour.  My impression was that they did it for similar reasons, too – to be left alone in peace from the chaos of an ever intruding world. 

In the volume, there were a few scenes depicting characters shooting very quickly using a way of reloading arrows off the hand holding the bow, a technique I’d seen and tried before but never successfully.  I tend to favor holding extra arrows in the hand drawing the string, but I thought I’d give this one another try.  It looks like the illustrator knew a thing or two about this technique himself, and I love that he took the time to depict this little detail, probably knowing a lot of people would probably miss it.  So in this episode, I play around with a few different techniques inspired by these panels.   Though I’m drawing the bow with my thumb and not the pads of my fingers like the characters in the comic, I found that what is drawn does actually work, more or less.  This is the hand position I found most successful, with the arrows under my middle finger:

Anyhow, it’s something I figured Logan and Aurora might find themselves using in the sequel, so I figured I owed it to myself to figure it out so I could write and draw about it.  More coming soon!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I’m reading from a draft of The Thirteenth Hour sequel that gets at the life that Logan and Aurora have created for themselves.  This section is told from Aurora’s perceptive:

Satisfied that I had the gear I needed, I said goodbye to Logan and walked away from our house towards the ocean.  Whereas Logan preferred hunting in the forest, I liked hunting in the grassy plain overlooking the tall cliff leading down to the ocean below.  There was a stream, fed by melting snow from the purple mountains, that flowed through the grassy fields, off the cliff and down to the ocean far below.  I loved walking along it, gazing out at the horizon into the cool blue waters.  I’ll admit, it wasn’t always the prospect of catching dinner that motivated me to hunt there.  It was partly the view and partly the occasional glimpse of the island’s wild horses that would rumble across the plain, kicking up a small cloud of dirt as they galloped through the grasslands.

If you think anything like me, you might be wondering if we ever succeeded in riding the horses.  The answer’s yes, though as with so many things, our ability to do so came from knowledge passed to us from the half elves.  After that first encounter with Starlyn, he had returned, as promised, the next morning, just as Logan and I had been cleaning up the remains of breakfast (which was, not surprisingly, more oatmeal).  One minute, we were scrubbing the pot (for a layer of the cereal always inevitably ended up charred to the bottom of the pot), and the next, Starlyn was standing in front of us.  He performed the same bow followed by the flute greeting as yesterday then motioned for us to follow him.

He’d showed us to a hidden staircase leading to the treetops.  Actually, I shouldn’t say hidden, since the steps made of rocks and protrusions coming out of trees are now as obvious as the stairs you might have in your own home.  They were just hidden from us at the time.  We’d walked past this spot hundreds of times before and had never noticed what we saw now as clear as day – that the winding staircase led to a network of rope bridges connecting one forest tree to another.  After traversing them for a bit, we descended and alighted in a clearing we’d never seen before.  Starlyn pulled out his flute, played a four note melody three times, then waited.  And that’s when we saw them – three wild horses that cantered out into the clearing.

Up to that point, we’d seen and heard the horses, but only from a distance.  Like most wild animals, they were skittish of perceived outsiders, and no matter how we tried, they’d run at the first glimpse of us.  Clearly, Starlyn was no outsider.  The three horses had trotted up to him, and after they’d neighed their own greeting, he’d pulled out pieces of fruit, giving one to Logan and another to me.  After the horses had eaten out of our hands, Staryln had made some kind gesture that the horses must have understood, for his horse stood still and let him climb on its back.  Tentatively, we’d followed suit – both amazed at the prospect that this was really happening and dumbfounded into silence. 

I’d like to say that I was well prepared for what followed having been around horses since a teen.  And … that would be a lie. As soon as I was on my horse’s back (for there was no saddle), Starlyn’s mount neighed and took off at a gallop.  The horses Logan and I were on were quick to follow.  It was all I could do to squeeze my legs around the horse’s flank and make a grab for the horse’s mane with my fingers to keep from being dumped onto my back.  My breath caught in my throat as the long strands of hair slipped through the fingers of one hand causing me to sway precariously to the left. Luckily, my right shoulder slammed against the horse’s neck in the process, allowing me to grab ahold with that arm.  I must have looked like an idiot, but at least I didn’t end up on my butt in the dust or hanging onto the horse’s neck for dear life while the rest of me dragged on the ground. 

So let’s just say that while it wasn’t the most comfortable ride, it was probably one of the most exciting ones I’d ever done up to that point.  Once I was situated on the horse, we raced through the golden rod fields in a cloud of dust at speeds unlike anything I’d ever experienced on the back of an animal.  The closest comparable experience was flying on Lightning, a magical hoverboard that Logan had acquired in a previous adventure.  Flying on Lightning had always made be somewhat nauseous, nor was I crazy about heights, so I avoided it whenever possible.  Riding on the back of a wild stallion, even at breakneck speeds, already had two plusses in my book: 1.) I didn’t barf, and 2.) we were on the ground.

In what seemed like minutes, we’d circumnavigated half the perimeter of the island and without slowing down, raced at the purple mountains that separated one side of the island from the other.  I initially thought we were heading straight for the rocks and was considering what I’d do if our riding party didn’t stop when the optical illusion that was the mountain pass revealed itself to me.  Due to a trick of the light and the way the rocks looked from the angle we were coming from, it looked like one massive purple wall.  But the horses, apparently used to navigating the pass, easily skirted around the outer lip of the pass and continued their gallop in its interior.  Now that we were inside, the horses slowed to a canter and naturally readjusted their formation so we were single file, Starlyn still taking point.  I craned my neck upwards.  I suppose as mountains go, these were quite modest and more akin to large hills, though I could see some remnants of snow on their peaks.  We would come to learn that due to the island’s climate, those snows never went away, which, luckily for us, provided us with a steady supply of fresh drinking water.  In the years to come, we would climb those peaks and come to know them well, but what struck me then was that even up close, the mountains retained their purplish hue.  We would later learn that the purple agate that made up much of our island’s small mountain range was a precious resource desired by others, namely a certain King from the mainland.  But more on that later.  

Besides their composition, the mountains had a purple hue due to the fields of lupines and other purple and blue wildflowers that grew along the bases.  At a few points, we slowed to a trot as the horses navigated the rocky terrain, and I leaned over and snatched a handful of purple lupines that were growing in the pass.  We’d managed to salvage a round glass window from an old ship that had wrecked on our shores in some part of the forgotten past, and had worked it into the outer wall of our home.  In the morning, the sun’s rays glinted through the air bubbles in the glass and made intricate patterns on our table.  The thought of the flowers I’d just picked being part of that scene filled me with a bit of domestic bliss.  Now, if only we had something to put them in …

And just like that, I was snapped out of my daydream when I realized that we had ridden into civilization.  After all those months being aware of no one else on our island but my husband, seeing what lay before me filled me with a wash of emotions.  First off, it was no longer “our” island.  I suppose it was never really “ours” since one can never really lay claim to the earth any more than sea or air, but for awhile there, it kind of felt like our own private retreat away from the chaos of the world.  I knew that couldn’t last, nor was I entirely sure why that was important to me, but I couldn’t deny that seeing the smoking campfires and the dwellings before us made me feel (I’m ashamed to say) undeniably … disappointed and territorial.  But I also couldn’t help being stuck with a sense of utter wonder as I saw that the fires and dwellings on the ground were nothing compared to what was in the trees.

Just like the hidden-in-plain view staircases, the trees I now looked at formed part of complicated network of stairs, bridges, and treehouses that were visible once you knew they were there, but at first glance might just look like vines and odd protrusions under the dense canopy.  I could see, or rather, feel eyes on us.  From the trees came the sound of multiple reed pipes.  The call and response echoed up the canopy, and with it came the bustle of opening doors, shuffling feet, and the creaks of the rope bridges.  And then, I could see them, eyes peering down at us – many of them – whose owners came in a variety of shapes and sizes.

A door in one of the huts on the ground opened, and a group of elderly men and women, a few walking with canes, hobbled towards us.  Starlyn dismounted and walked towards them.  He performed the same four note flute melody that he used to greet us, then after a rapid exchange of signs and tracings done with his fingers on the palms of his audience, they smiled, held out open arms, and gestured upwards.  A child up in the canopy waved.  Another child threw a stick, which earned him a silent rebuke from what looked like a parent.  Starlyn smiled, turned to us, and gestured that we should dismount. 

The elders – what looked like two men and two women, stepped forward and one by one, did the same four note melody on their flutes followed by a hand gesture and a bow.  The last fellow did the same but then cleared his throat, smiled, and said, “Warm greetings to you, neighbors.  I know you probably have so many questions, and our ability to communicate is limited.  Our names don’t translate very well into the common tongue,” he said, showing us again the gesture he used for his name, “… so just call me … hmm … um … Bob for now, how’s that?”

After we’d introduced ourselves, Bob nodded and said, “Welcome to the Isle of Misfits – a safe haven for half elves and their friends.”  He paused, craned his head up, and scratched his head.  “If you’ll pardon me, I … I don’t speak the common tongue very often these days so some words have escaped me.  What I want to say is … yes, what I want to say besides ‘welcome’ is that we are the … village elders.  Most half elves don’t speak with words out loud like we are now.  I can … for whatever reason … so let me be your … interpt … interpreter?  For this visit.”  Then he wiped his brow, shook his head, and gestured something to his compatriots, who smiled and laughed.  “I was telling them that speaking this way is a real brain workout.  Here, now follow us; we’re going to show you around.”

As Bob and the other elders showed us around the lower part of the village, I got a better look at our hosts.  To be honest, had we not been standing in a half elf encampment, I’m not sure I would have thought them much different from the groups of white-haired senior citizens that sometimes used to frequent the inn I’d worked at in my hometown, Aquaria, where they’d pass much of the day chatting and drinking tea.  The only stand out feature that might differentiate them from a similarly matched for age human were their pointy outer ears.

The elders must have been chatting together themselves for, though they were making no vocal sounds, there were plenty of gestures.  It seemed a bit rude to not even attempt to learn Bob’s name in his own language, so I asked him to show us.

“Ahh.  Well, it goes like this,” he said, repeating the gesture, which like the flute melody, had four parts.  After the elders had corrected Logan and I a few times, they all nodded and continued the walking tour.

I was so used to the bustle and din of the typical human town that what struck me most then was how much like the rest of the forest this village seemed.  There was no clang of a blacksmith’s hammer, no clatter of horseshoes on cobblestones, no neighs, bleats, or clucks of domesticated farm animals, and none of the call and response sounds of marketplace haggling.  In fact, had there not been dwellings on the forest floor (that turned out to be the elder’s lodgings), one might not have known the village was there. 

Bob pointed to a rocky outcropping and motioned for us to come forward.  “Most of us will stay down here.  Our joints and sense of balance make going up into the trees hard these days, but there is much to see.  Starlyn and I will accompany you.”

Just like the hidden tree staircase near our house, the way up to the tree houses was invisible unless you knew where to look.  The rocky outcropping covered the entrance from our side, but even from where we now stood, the steps of the staircase were hard to see unless you looked at them at just the right angle.

“This is incredible,” Logan whispered to me.

I nodded, though had to admit I’d hate to navigate these steps in the dark.  As we rose higher and higher, I wished there was something else to hold onto aside from the rocky wall the steps had been which cleaved out of.  To my right, there was nothing separating us from the drop to the forest floor save a few interwoven vines forming a rickety railing.  I’d never been especially fond of heights, and Bob, who must have picked up either my anxiety or the strength at which I gripped the vines, said, “You may be, I hope, reassured to know that once we alight, there is a net below us should anyone fall.”

Seeing what must have been a wash of relief come over my face, Bob qualified, “I mean … it’s not perfect and does require regular attention … but for those of us getting on in years who no longer have the footing we use to … or those who are very young and prone to … how shall we say, inadvertent falls, the treehouses are more trouble than they are worth.  We originally traded with the fishermen in Ravenvale to get fishing nets but have since learned how to make our own.  On more than one occasion, a child has been saved because of them.”

Once we’d mounted the last step, it was easy to see the network of rope bridges making up the upper levels.  I stood looking up in awe as the sunlight poked through the canopy and sparkled as it bounced off glints of metal sparkling in front of the houses.

“Each structure has its own windchime.  Kind of like an address in other parts of the world,” explained Bob as we climbed higher.

When we had alighted upon one of the top levels, Bob stopped to catch his breath and smiled, turning to us.  “Climbing these steps isn’t the same at my age,” he said, wiping his brow.  He pointed to one of the structures at the end of the rope bridge.  “This is one of our guest rooms.  We don’t get many guests, but when someone new comes here, they often stay in one of these rooms until we can make or prepare a home for them.  You’re welcome to stay in one of them while you are here.”

“That’s so nice,” I said, looking at Logan, who looked equally surprised. 

“Gee, we didn’t get you guys anything,” he said.

Bob smiled.  “But you have.  You settled here to live, have done it in thoughtful way, and not just to exploit the land.  One of your Kings, if I recall, wasn’t quite so nice.”

Logan’s face blanched.  “Wait, do you mean King Darian?”

“Yes, not the current one.  But … his father, was it Darian III?  I don’t keep up with world events much anymore.  Whoever it was sent some troops here years ago.  Our purple hills were apparently used to build the walls of the King’s royal chambers.  Apparently …they don’t have this kind of purple agate in Tartec.”

Logan sighed, shook his head, and stared down at the ground.  “That doesn’t surprise me at all.  I was only in those chambers a few times.  The walls are purple,” he said, looking at me.  “Just can’t get away from those guys.”

I didn’t have as much personal dislike for the royalty of our home country as Logan did, but then again, I had not been drafted into the military by King Darian IV, who wanted to live forever, and sent on a mission around the world to find the secret for eternal life by said King, the same mission that had killed the rest of Logan’s crew and nearly had gotten him killed in the process.  Actually, he was dead for a short time, though that’s long story for another time.  Needless to say, Logan wanted nothing more to do with the King, his Army, or the country where we grew up.

Bob looked at Logan, gave a sad, tight-lipped smile, and said, “I take it you know a thing or two about King Darian?”

“Something like that.  Tell you sometime.”

Bob nodded.  “Well, if you look, you can still see the craters in the sides of some of the hills where they came with their men and their machines to dig and blast big chunks out of the hills.  And on the south side of the island, even though it’s been … forty years or so, you can still see the big ruts in the ground where the carts carrying the rocks out to the sea got stuck in the mud.  For a long time, the kids used them as giant slides when it would snow.  But, anyway … on to better things.  Go on, take a look,” he said, pointing to the guest house.  “Starlyn and I will be just over there,” he said, pointing to a structure one level below ours.  “Starlyn’s house.  Just come find us when you want to go back down.  You can join us for our village meal.”

“Well, this is unexpected,” I said when we entered the dwelling.  It was a circular dome about 10 feet wide built around the trunk of a tree.  There were a few windows around the circumference that had raised shutters hooked into the ceiling.  Logan, being Logan, immediately stuck his head out of one of them and peered out.  My heart jumped into my throat when he leaned a little too far and slipping right out, landing with a curse and a thump on the wooden boards of the landing around the house. 

“Interesting,” he said, when I went out to check on him.  He was lying on his chest, peering under the house.  One hand was rubbing his head, the other was pointing at the underside of the house.  “Look, Aurora, they somehow attached this house directly to the tree.  I don’t even see any nails.  I wonder how they did it?  Here, take a look!”

“Um, I’ll take your word for it,” I said.  Like I said, heights weren’t my thing.

“I guess it’s for the best we didn’t try to build a tree house,” Logan said.  “Can’t imagine trying to lug all this stuff up here,” he said, referring to one of our early homebuilding ideas. 

Inside, there were two mats on the floor, which we both sat on.

“Surprisingly comfortable,” I said.  “Definitely much better than ours!”

“Maybe they’ll sell us some,” Logan said.

I looked over at the wall, where there was a small stone hearth built into the wall.  It was probably too small for cooking, but probably just big enough to warm up the small space in the winter.  A skylight on the same kind of hinge as the windows was visible on the ceiling giving a view of the midday sky.  We weren’t quite above the forest canopy, but I imagine you could see a fair amount of the night sky on a clear night.  The trunk of the tree was offset so both mattress could lie side by side.  On the other side of the trunk, there was a narrow space that had a small shelf attached to the trunk.  There was a lantern, a flint and steel, and an empty pitcher and bowl.  There were two books, a well-worn manual of the night sky and an equally worn volume entitled, A Pirate’s Yarn – the Omnibus Edition, written by J. Allsworth, former buccaneer.  

“Ahh, this one is a classic!  I haven’t seen this book in years,” said Logan, flipping through the pages.  There was a colorful hand drawn map on the first few pages of “The Known World” which though apparently not drawn to scale, was detailed enough that our island was on it.  “I read this book when I was sailing up the Blue River.”

I stretched out on the mats, looking out the window as the sunlight glinted off the leaves and gave a contented sigh.  That time Logan had referred to, when he was in the military, sailing up the Blue River on his first and only mission, had been an equally peripatetic and difficult time in my life.  I was glad that chapter had come to an end.

Logan looked up from the volume he was flipping through, and I murmured and patted the mat next to mine.  He smiled, put the book down, and lied down next to me.  I snuggled my head into the crook between his chest and his upper arm and closed my eyes, listening to the sound of his heart beating, feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. 

“I feel lucky,” I said, after a time, echoing something Logan had said to me once, years ago.

“Me, too,” he said softly in my ear and kissed my forehead.  I don’t mind saying that for that moment in time, all felt right with the world.

That afternoon, we ended up not only having one of the best meals we’d ever had on the island, but the half elves gave us a few mattress pads to take with us to outfit our cabin.  Starlyn also showed us a shortcut to get back to our cabin using only the tree top network of rope bridges.  Before we left, Bob said that now that we knew of two ways to get to the village, we were welcome anytime.  As we alighted from the hidden tree stairs near our cottage, I felt very grateful having met our neighbors but a bit guilty – what could we possibly bring them in return that they didn’t already have?

My thoughts snapped back to the present when I realized that I had, in my reverie, nearly missed dinner right in front of me.  Not more than five yards away, a large rabbit was eating its own meal in the underbrush.  I had somehow managed to not startle it.  Without thinking, I nocked an arrow, drew back the string, and loosed the shot without really taking the time to aim.  In the blink of an eye, the rabbit flopped over, the arrow skewering through its chest. 

As I knelt before it, I recalled my first attempts, years ago, characterized by slow, deliberate shots that should have hit their intended marks except for some involuntary, probably unconscious movement on my part at the last second that inevitably spoiled the release or altered my grip in such a way that the arrow missed by a few inches left or right, at which point I’d give a sigh of relief while simultaneously cursing another oatmeal dinner.  And the first time an arrow finally did strike its target, it came as much as a surprise to me as it did to my prey.  I had immediately dropped my bow, ran to the rodent I’d shot, and burst into tears.  Like today, I’d been alone at the time, and had knelt on the ground, cradling the animal’s little body in my arms, vowing to never hunt again.  But hunger has a way of changing such sentiments, and as the years went on, it no longer bothered me to the same extent.  Still, I always said a silent prayer giving thanks for a successful hunt, no matter how small.  If we were to live, something else could not.  It was nature’s way.  It was just easier to ignore before, living in the orphanage, when meat donated by the butcher came to us packaged in its wax paper parcels.    

More coming soon!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, after some time away (visiting my brother and his wife), I had a couple of reflections.  Not only are our kids getting and can do things like pull their own bags and navigate subway systems and sit through restaurant meals but they’re also old enough to more fully appreciate differences in culture, language, and society much more so than when they were younger.  It’s cool to see!  I mention that since in The Thirteenth Hour sequel books that I’ve been working on, one of the main characters from the first book, Aurora, ends up going to a different part of the world where she can’t speak or read the native tongue.  Though there is a common tongue that allows people to communicate, not everyone speaks it, and that presents barriers to Aurora when she first gets to these lands, and eventually for Logan and his party when they arrive in search of her.  So though the things I touch on in this episode are not huge parts of the book, they lay the foundation and background for the worlds I’ve been trying to create in the story.

More coming soon!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, we are continuing the talk started last time when game developer and musician, Paul Korman, came on the show; this week, my brother Jeremy joins us for further discussion on Paul, his game The Phantom Fellows, oneshorteye’s mini documentary, “The Ghost Game That Isn’t About Death” about Paul and the game, as well as game development in general.  The last time I talked to Paul, I was not actively making the Rocketeer game I’ve been working on, so we have a whole discussion (therapy session?) about solo game development and the frustration that sometimes comes with it.  

More on The Phantom Fellows 

Oneshorteye’s Youtube channel

Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry, the ecology and exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi, and their most recent game, Gallows Corner: A Peasants’ Revolt RPG. 

Thanks, Jeremy and Paul, for coming on the show!  Look for us in a few months.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, we are starting a two part episode with solo game developer and musician, Paul Korman, who was last on the show on episode 493.  Paul and his game The Phantom Fellows are the subject of the oneshorteye’s mini documentary, “The Ghost Game That Isn’t About Death” about Paul, where he lives, the things that went into the making of the game, and the process of its creation and release.  If you’re into game development, classic video games, or adventure games in general, you’ll find something to love, so check it out!   Part 2, coming next week, also features my brother, Jeremy, for more game development talk.

More on The Phantom Fellows 

Oneshorteye’s Youtube channel

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, I recorded outside, the first nice spring day so far,  I wanted to take advantage of the weather so do some shooting outdoors. Unlike the static, more deliberate archery style | learned when I was younger, I have been experimenting with more dynamic ways of moving while shooting – different draw techniques (thumb draw, Slavic release) as well as shooting while walking and after rolling. For the past 15 yrs or so, I have been playing around with purely instinctive ways of shooting (no sights) – just aiming through intention alone, which fits many of the martial arts l’ve done over the years. I’ve used these experiences as background for writing the sequel to The Thirteenth Hour.  Here’s a segment from the draft narrated by Aurora, reflecting on the past few years as she and Logan learned by trial and error how to catch their food after having grown up not really having to depend on things like hunting and fishing for protein.   

I remembered all this as I wrapped my hands around my bow and did a final check on the arrows I had with me.  The bow had been another half elf influence.  We’d made a few crude self bows when we first arrived using instructions in one of the hunting books Logan had brought, but those manuals tended to leave out all the important details – where to find the appropriate wood, how long to season it, how to make a bowstring that didn’t snap, how to straighten the shafts used for arrows (to name a few) – making you wonder if the authors had actually ever followed their own instructions.  We managed to bumble our way through a few hunts with those crude weapons before giving up.  For a few months, we’d focused on snares instead and finally had some success eating something other than oatmeal and wild strawberries.  In the meantime, we managed to harvest a few hardwood staves in the forest and lay them aside to season.  We eventually ended up using those pieces of wood to make reasonable shooting longbows and happily chopped up the first few sets we’d made as kindling. 

Even so, the best bows we’d made were still crude compared to the weapons crafted by the half elven bowyers, who, over the course of years coupled with an intimate knowledge of their environment, knew exactly which woods to use, how long they should be seasoned, and where to source all sorts of supplementary materials to add speed, flexibility, and power to their bows.  The sinew-backed laminated recurve bow that now cradled in my hand had taken the better part of a year to make from start to finish.  Although most of that time had been to allow the wood to season, the process of assembling the bow – since its pieces first had to be shaped and then laminated together – had been done carefully over the course of several weeks.  The result was a bow that fitted me perfectly.  Drawing it was smooth, and it did not creak and threaten breakage each time its limbs were stretched like most of the others we’d made.  The first time I’d pulled it back, the limbs had to be adjusted a bit to lighten the draw weight so I could hold it at full draw comfortably.  Even so, it rocketed the initial test arrows I’d used at speeds I’d never before witnessed.  In the span of an hour, I managed to lose all of the test arrows I’d been given.  However, once I had a set of arrows fitted to my body and the bow, it was much more manageable.  Still, I occasionally mixed up my arrows with Logan’s, and since he had longer arms than I and a different size bow, his arrows didn’t fly as well off my bow as they did from his.

Satisfied that I had the gear I needed, I said goodbye to Logan and walked away from our house towards the ocean.  Whereas Logan preferred hunting in the forest, I liked hunting in the grassy plain overlooking the tall cliff leading down to the ocean below.  There was a stream, fed by melting snow from the purple mountains, that flowed through the grassy fields, off the cliff and down to the ocean far below.  I loved walking along it, gazing out at the horizon into the cool blue waters.  I’ll admit, it wasn’t always the prospect of catching dinner that motivated me to hunt there.  It was partly the view and partly the occasional glimpse of the island’s wild horses that would rumble across the plain, kicking up a small cloud of dirt as they galloped through the grasslands.

More coming soon!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, on the show, I thought I’d explore a little more about how the Thirteenth Hour sequel is going, especially in one small area.  Logan and Aurora, the main characters from the original Thirteenth Hour are last seen on a small island off the coast of the mainland.  (I talked a little about the island in episode 522.)  They learn to be pretty self sufficient there, but I also imagined that they exchanged ideas, customs, clothes, food, and other parts of life with some other groups of people nearby – the half elf community located on the other side of the island and the town of Ravenvale, which has a number of shops, a market where they occasional sell food they have harvested and things they’ve made as well as pick up supplies, and an inn where they sometimes splurge for a weekend getaway.

I have often thought that in their youth, growing up in the Aquarian orphanage, they would have eaten a lot of soup, since that is cheap and can be easily made.  But I also imagined that in the forested region they lived in, which was intended to be temperate in nature, would have been too cold for crops like rice but okay for grains grown on some of the farms nearby.  The main export of Aquaria would have been lumber, paper, fur pelts, and crops like wheat and other grains which were often sold raw or manufactured into dry goods like noodles. 

I imagined locals would have found all sorts of ways to consume said noodles, so recently, when I was cooking dinner, I wondered if stir fried noodles (lao mien / chow mien – a staple at most American Chinese restaurants) could have also been something they ate.  I don’t see why not.  Stir frying over an open fire or a large fire in the hearth would totally be possible, and it’s basically what every Chinese restaurant does.  Frankly, it’d be a lot safer and less messy outside or in a space with good ventilation, like in a fireplace, as it tends to produce a fair amount of smoke sometimes and oil get over everything.   That said, once you have your ingredients cut up, it takes mere minutes to sear everything before you have a meal.  Things do need to be cut up in little pieces so it’s possible to cook them quickly but again, totally doable.  The only part that would be challenging would be obtaining the noodles as well as some oil so doesn’t all stick to the pan.   These things I figured Logan and Aurora could trade for in Ravenvale.  I also imagined them strolling through the market, sampling some of the street foods there, watching them be prepared right there in the open, and then taking those techniques with them back home to their island to test out.

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

In today’s episode, I’m making two little riffs that I think will be background music for the pixelart Rocketeer game I’ve been working on.  One is a little somber piece to accompany the “RIP” scene when Cliff kicks the bucket.  I’ve made a serious one here, but I thought I might vary what is written on the gravestone to reflect what you did, if I can figure out how to do that.  Like, for example, if you blew yourself up with a grenade, the gravestone might read, “Cliff Secord, 1911 – 1936, chowderhead.”

The second riff is probably the verse to some kind of ending song, while the credits play.  I was undecided on whether to do any music with words in it, but this one came to me one day (while driving, naturally), and I thought it might fit.  If not, than for a future Thirteenth Hour soundtrack.  But since the game is really about Cliff going to rescue Peevy, I thought it could be a song about friendship, mentorship, or maybe the love fathers have for their sons (since Peevy is a kind of father figure to Cliff).    

More to come next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form and on CD!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes and special editions of the album there as well.)  The CDs are out now!

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

This week, on the show, my brother and I are discussing a RPG system he created based on the world of The Thirteenth Hour.   This is a work in progress based on a number of RPGs set in that world that we have already done but also with an eye toward creating your own world.  In other words, it’s meant to be light on rules and structure, heavy on customizability and individuality.  So although you could create games based on the fantasy world in the Thirteenth Hour books, you could also use the engine to create games for your own books and worlds.   Jeremy and I do the first of likely several of these over the next year as we do play testing with some new Thirteenth Hour RPGs.  I have set up a page I will be adding to on itch.io that has the draft of the document we’re discussing and will be the site of future updates.

Check out Jeremy‘s work over at Pixel Grotto, CBR.com, and Classic Batman Panels on IG. If you are of the DnD persuasion, his articles on DnD Beyond may be right up your alley, and you can view his entire portfolio here.  You can also check out his latest book, where he is a co-author: Pathfinder Adventure Path: No Breath to Cry, the ecology and exploration TTRPG with Three Sail Studios, Mappa Mundi, and their most recent game, Gallows Corner: A Peasants’ Revolt RPG.  Thanks, Jeremy, for coming on the show!  

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes, CDs, and special editions of the album there as well.)

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!

In today’s episode, I’m wrapping up the music that I started in episode 536, what I’m calling the “outdoor” Rocketeer theme for the parts of the Rocketeer vs the Third Reich pixelart game I’ve been making that takes place outdoors.  Since those are sections where Cliff will have his rocketpack and can fly, I wanted to give the music a kind of WW1 flying ace kind of feel.  Most of the track was done from last fall, but I ended up adding a few other instruments to round it out.

I also reflect on the nature of making music in this day and age as opposed to before, touching on what previous generations of homebrew music producers had to work with.  I’ve been reading out the early days of hiphop (before it was really called that), and it’s fascinating to think what those guys came up with – e.g. DJ Kool Herc (the father of hip hop) made extended breakbeat compilations of his own for the neighborhood parties in the Bronx in the summer of 1973.  It’s easy to lose sight of how good we have it with the tools we have (many of which are not only widely available but free), which make it all the more impressive to think what previous generations did with the tools they had.  

More to come next week!

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Once Upon a Dream, the second Thirteenth Hour soundtrack, is now out in digital form and on CD!  

It is out on most major streaming services such as Bandcamp, Spotify, and YouTube Music.  (If you have no preference, I recommend Bandcamp since there is a bonus track there and you will eventually be able to find tapes and special editions of the album there as well.)  The CDs are out now!

-Check out the pixelart music videos that are out so far from the album:

–>Logan’s Sunrise Workout: www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7SM1RgsLiM

–>Forward: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9VgILr1TDc

–>Nightsky Stargazing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2S0p3jKRTBo

–>Aurora’s Rainy Day Mix: https://youtu.be/zwqPmypBysk

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

•  Signup for the mailing list for a free special edition podcast, a demo copy of The Thirteenth Hour, and access to retro 80s soundtrack!
• Like what you see or hear? Consider supporting the show over at Thirteenth Hour Arts on Patreon or adding to my virtual tip jar over at Ko-fi.
• Join the Thirteenth Hour Arts Group over on Facebook, a growing community of creative people.
• Have this podcast conveniently delivered to you each week on Spotify,  iTunes, Stitcher, Player FM, Tunein, and Googleplay Music.
• Follow The Thirteenth Hour’s Instagram pages: @the13thhr for your random postings on ninjas, martial arts, archery, flips, breakdancing, fantasy art and and @the13thhr.ost for more 80s music, movies, and songs from The Thirteenth Hour books and soundtrack.
• Listen to Long Ago Not So Far Away, the Thirteenth Hour soundtrack online at: https://joshuablum.bandcamp.com/ or Spotify.  Join the mailing list for a digital free copy.  You can also get it on CD or tape.
• Website: https://13thhr.wordpress.com
• Book trailer: http://bit.ly/1VhJhXY
• Interested in reading and reviewing The Thirteenth Hour for a free book?  Just email me at writejoshuablum@gmail.com for more details!